CFL Week 19 kicks off with a catfight between the BC Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats tonight. With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, both squads are still jockeying for better playoff positioning.
The 11-5 Lions still have their sights set on first place in the West while the 8-8 Ticats' chances of hosting the Eastern Semi-Final are still live. CFL odds opened the Lions as four-point road favorites, with the Over/Under listed at 49.
Here are my best free CFL picks and predictions for Lions vs. Tiger-Cats on Friday, October 13.
Lions vs Tiger-Cats best odds
Lions vs Tiger-Cats picks and predictions
Betting on the CFL at this time of the year can get extremely tricky, especially if playoff-bound teams start to rest key players or eliminated squads shuffle up their lineups with an eye on the future. Thankfully, both of these teams still have something to play for.
Technically, the BC Lions could still leapfrog Winnipeg for first place in the West, although they need to win out and have Winnipeg lose back-to-back contests for that to happen.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats also have a chance of taking home-field advantage in the first round away from Montreal. The Ticats need to win this contest, hope the Als lose to the Elks on Saturday, and then defeat the Als in the season finale.
With that in mind, I'm handicapping this contest with the notion that both teams especially Hamilton will be motivated to win. If that's the case, I like the Ticats to put up points against a Lions defense that has been terrible over the last couple of months.
The Ticats are playing their best football of the year and have gone 5-2 — both straight up and against the spread — in their last seven games. Their only two losses during that span came against the dominant Argonauts, and that streak began with a 30-13 rout of the Lions in Vancouver.
Hamilton ran the ball down BC's throat in that contest, rushing for 132 yards on 24 carries and controlling the clock for more than 36 minutes. Hamilton's ground game has taken off ever since Scott Milanovich took over as the play-caller in August. Now their offense has starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and backup Matthew Shiltz back in the lineup after both had stints on the IR.
The two quarterbacks made their long-anticipated return last week and combined to complete 20 of 25 passes for 400 yards in a 38-13 beatdown of the Roughriders. Granted, the Riders have the worst defense in the CFL, but the Leos haven't been much better lately — surrendering 30.4 points per game over their last nine contests.
The Lions are coming off a contest against the Bombers where they allowed 516 yards and 34 points at home, and they've given up at least 25 points in seven consecutive games. With the Ticats scoring at least 22 points in six of their previous seven contests, take the Over 21.5 on their team total.
My best bet: Tiger-Cats team total Over 21.5 (-110 at Bet99)
Lions vs Tiger-Cats spread and Over/Under analysis
The line for this game opened with the Lions installed as 3.5-point road favorites and the Over/Under listed at 48.5. Some books have moved the spread up to -4 with others pricing -3.5 at -115, indicating some early money on BC.
The Lions are coming off a 34-26 home loss to the Bombers where they allowed Winnipeg to score 18 unanswered points in the second half. That defeat snapped a four-game winning streak for them.
The Leos have a dynamic offense anchored by quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and the league's top wide receiving corps. However, their defense has struggled over the last couple of months, leading to plenty of shootouts with the Over going 7-1-1 in their last nine contests.
The Ticats entered this season with high expectations but turnovers and poor execution plagued them during a 3-6 start to their season. They have since turned things around, going 5-2 SU and ATS in their last seven. Although third-string rookie QB Taylor Powell did a solid job of helping them win, the Tabbies offense will be in better hands with veterans like Mitchell and Shiltz at the helm.
Lions vs Tiger-Cats trend to know
The Lions are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall. Find more CFL betting trends for Lions vs. Tiger-Cats.
Lions vs Tiger-Cats game info
| Location: | Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, ON |
| Date: | Friday, October 13, 2023 |
| Kickoff: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TSN |
Lions vs Tiger-Cats key injuries
Lions: Taquan Mizzell RB (Questionable), Jalon Edwards-Cooper DB (Questionable).
Tiger-Cats: David Beard C (Questionable), Brandon Kemp LT (Questionable), Ted Laurent DT (Questionable), Omar Bayless WR (Questionable), Tunde Adeleke DB (Out), Joel Figueroa LT (Out), Duke Williams WR (Out).
Find our latest CFL injury reports.
